Post Shadow Kiss
by HannahW3010
Summary: This is set after Shadow Kiss, however Dimitri wasn't turned. Please Read, Review, and Follow!
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHORS NOTE: Hi everyone! :3 Just a few things you need to note before starting to read this fanfic… This is set after Shadow Kiss, but the attack NEVER HAPPENED. I know this is done a lot, and I love the plotline of the books, but I think I'd have more to work with if that never happened xD This is my second fanfic, my other one was another VA one, but it was on another account that I can't remember the name for. This will be the only chapter for now, but I will probably continue the story sometime. I definitely won't be in the next week, because I'm going on holiday and it's my birthday and stuff. Please review and tell me what you think of the story and my writing!**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**_

"I'm so terribly sorry, your majesty. I hope you shall understand my reasons," Lissa simpered insincerely before pressing the red button on the phone. She let out a deep sigh, one that sounded as if she had been compressing it for some time now, and I swear I saw her eyes brim with tears of relief, although she cleared them quickly and shook her head at me. I just grinned at her. Lissa had been Tatiana's slave for over 4 months now, and the constant toing and froing from St Vladimirs to Court and then back again every week had finally began to take its toll on her. Although I still thought As were awesome grades, Lissa was not happy she had dropped from A*s, and who was I to argue with her?

I had been dropping hints to Lissa to call off her deal with the queen for about three of those four months. I hadn't thought it was a good idea to begin with, and finally Lissa had seen my side of the argument, and sent her a call. She cancelled her deal with Tatiana this way partly because she was a chicken and couldn't face her properly and also because she needed to do this as soon as possible, and it wasn't convenient for Liss and me to shoot off to Court on a Tuesday morning. I would be attending with her as her best friend and future guardian. Naturally.

I haven't been a very good friend recently though. I know I should tell her about Dimitri and I, but every time I try, she runs off to visit Court or see Christian or work with Adrian. Graduation is in 6 months, and although Dimitri and I have agreed to wait until I graduate, it's hard for both of us to deal. I am still receiving my private lessons with him, not because I am behind the class now (on the contrary, I am top of it), but because it's the only time we can spend together without looking suspicious. My heart still races every time I see him, and my mind stops working. When he touches me, my heart practically stops. I think he feels the same way.

Adrian hasn't ceased pestering me, however. He knows about me and Dimitri, he's pretty much the only person who does, with the exception of Dimitri and I, obviously. Adrian hasn't changed a bit from when I first met him at the ski lodge. He still annoys me just as much, but I've grown to think of him as a brother, rather like the way I feel about Lissa. I know Dimitri gets jealous, even though he knows our relationship is purely friendly, and I've told him not to worry about it. Nothing can compare to Dimitri, and both Adrian and Dimitri know I feel that way.

For the first few weeks after I revealed I was seeing ghosts, I was being given counselling sessions, however after it became obvious that I wasn't crazy at all and it was a side effect from being shadow-kissed, they were discontinued, and I was no longer treated like an invalid. It was a relief, to be perfectly honest. I hated being treated like I was weak and fragile. It did nothing for my usual badass demeanour, and I was sick of being teased and mocked by my peers. Dimitri heard a few of them and told them off, but he couldn't do much about them. I could deal with name calling anyway. It was simply just annoying to me, like an itch I couldn't scratch.

When I walked into the gym on that unusually cold September morning, I was surprised to see Dimitri relaxed over a chair, with no training equipment out. He noticed me and smiled as I sent him a confused look, wondering what we were going to be doing today. It didn't even look like we were going to be running, as he pretty much always ran with me these days, and he certainly wasn't dressed for it. Not that I was complaining. I sauntered over and sat in the chair opposite him, not breaking eye contact with him.

"I thought, rather than training this morning, we shouldtalk. About the things that we need to. Our future, the present…" He trailed off, seeing my horrified face. I knew this day was coming. This was the day when he would tell me he didn't want me, and that he was going off with Tasha to have the one thing I couldn't provide him with; a family. "What's wrong?" He asked me softly, reaching his hand towards me and cupping my chin softly. He usually wasn't this affectionate, but when he saw that I was really upset, he let his wild side loose. Compared to my wild side, he looked like a tame kitten, but that was just how I liked him.

"This is when you tell me you don't love me, right? That the night in the cabin was a big mistake? I was an infatuation, one that you can't continue with because it's wrong?" I muttered, not meeting his stare until I heard his sharp intake of breath. Dimitri's face was a look of outrage. He looked away from me for a few moments, and when he redirected his gaze back onto me, his guardian mask was on. I watched him, not sure whether to say anything or not. He looked over at me, scanning my whole body before resting his eyes on mine. His eyes softened, and he ran a hand through his hair before taking one of my hands that had previously been resting on my lap.

"You think, after all this time, I would tell you I didn't love you? You're my life, Rose. I wanted to speak to you about how we're going to work in the future, not to break up with you. I couldn't live a day without you. Now that you've been brought into my life, I'm never letting you go. I need you, as you need me," he whispered, barely audible. My heart swelled; he didn't usually let his emotions out like this. He must be in a really affectionate mood. Not that I was complaining.

"You know I love you too," was I could reply. I shuddered inside; I was getting too soppy! What had happened to the usual Rose Hathaway? "So, Comrade, what did you need to talk to me about?" I asked him, my voice perky again. He just shook his head and smiled softly. Surely he should know by now that I get distracted easily? I poked him in the arm, urging him on. Sometimes the most childish acts were the most effective. Not that I was immature or anything… I was simply in touch with my fun side!

"Well, I was thinking about what we were talking about after the cabin, about our future. Waiting until graduation is a good idea, although it rests on us being able to control our inner feelings, and not letting our affections show too much. Anything that implies we're more than student and teacher will attract attention, and we don't want attention. I know some people already have their suspicions, and we are going to do our best to make them forget said suspicions. Which means no… intimate actions, even when we're alone. Do you understand?" He asked me, searching my eyes for any unspoken answers.

"I don't understand why it has to be this way though! I don't want you to be fired, and I don't want to be expelled, but I love you, and I don't think we should have to hide it!" I said indignantly. Secretly, I knew that this was how we had to handle the situation, and I knew Dimitri knew I knew, but I am Rose Hathaway, and I had to put up a fight. One of the main things on my mind was Lissa. I felt terrible for not telling her about our relationship, and I knew she was going to be pissed that I didn't tell her, but if we were going to keep it a secret for another 6 months, would it help at all by telling her? I hated to continue the lie, but it might be easier just to tell her when the time came.

Dimitri and I conversed for a little while longer, but eventually the bell rang, and I had to leave for breakfast. I was running a little late, and I was hoping that Lissa, Christian or Adrian had saved me a doughnut. There would be hell to pay if they didn't, and seeing as though those three had been personally victimised by me before because of the lack of doughnuts, I had my fingers crossed that they had thought of me whilst getting breakfast. Luckily, they had, and I shot them thankful looks as I slid down into my seat next to Lissa and started munching on them. Although Dimitri and I hadn't done any training today, I was still hungry, and doughnuts were the only things that could fill that empty void of a morning. Some would say my feelings for doughnuts were boring on obsession, but I say screw them. Who are they to decide that my feelings for food are unhealthy? I'd like to see those jerks do hours of training every day! Stupid Moroi have it too easy. They should be stuck in a dhampir's position for a day just to see how much shit we do for them…

"Rose? You okay?" Adrian was asking me, making me drift into reality again. "Your aura just went really dark for a second," he informed me, and as I was unable to reply due to the fact I had a mountain of crumbs and chocolate icing in my mouth, I just nodded and gave him the thumbs up sign. I really needed to find a cure for that darkness, along with a solution for Dimitri and I's relationship, finding the right way to tell Lissa about our relationship, graduating with high enough marks to become Lissa's guardian, find my father, and make sure no Strigoi hurt anyone I love. The life of Rose Hathaway sucks. But I wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back off my holidays, and I was a bit bored on one of the days, so I wrote this for y'all. I hope it serves justice to the previous chapter! Thank you to all who reviewed and followed the story, it really cheered me up! 3 Again, please R&R once you've finished reading this chapter, because it really helps to give me motivation, and I like to see that I'm not writing for nothing ;) It's my birthday tomorrow, so I probably won't update for a few days or so, because I still need to write the next chapter.**

**Usual disclaimers apply.**

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The rest of my day was pretty uneventful, to be honest. Stan had a go at me again in his lesson, but it wasn't my fault. Surely he must have the intention of putting us to sleep when he writes out his teaching plan? Eddie had fallen asleep too, but naturally it was only I who was caught, which I don't think is very fair. But the joke's on him, because I managed to get myself out of the lesson. Stan never told me to go and see Kirova when he sent me out of the room, so I was simply following orders.

Dimitri and I ran laps in our training session after school. He decided that it was unacceptable that we didn't actually do anything in the morning, and so pushed me extra hard, and I knew my muscles would be killing me tomorrow. However, I did manage to shave a minute off my previous best time, so I guess every cloud has a silver lining. Dimitri's affectionate mood had worn off, and he wasn't very happy with me when I decided to race ahead of him and stop suddenly, so that he tripped over me. I thought it was hilarious, and was definitely worth the extra ten laps. I mean, I have to do _something_ to brighten up those dreary runs, right?

I was sat in my room tackling some homework when I heard the soft rap on the door. I knew it wasn't Lissa; I would have been able to tell through the bond. A quick flash into her head told me she was with Christian, in his room. I shuddered, and was glad that I could finally control myself enough to drag myself out of her head when I wished. The person knocked on the door again; apparently not happy with the whole ten seconds it had taken me to see if it was Lissa. Before they could start beating the door down, I swung it open, revealing a very scruffy and intoxicated Adrian. Well, who else would it be? Nobody comes to visit me except Lissa, Christian, Eddie and Adrian, and seeing as though Eddie would be doing homework like me, and Liss and Christian were… otherwise occupied, the only other person it could be was Ivashkov.

He staggered past me and collapsed on the bed, not waiting for an invitation inside. Sometimes, I wished that the Moroi needed to be invited into a room before they could enter, like in those old fashioned movies. I could have been sorting out my thongs for all he knew! Although, to be truthful, he'd probably enjoy that. Rolling my eyes behind his back, I shut the door and sat down on the chair I was doing my homework in, swivelling it around to face Adrian. His hair was a mess, and his eyelids were drooping, his green irises flickering wildly behind them. His shirt was untucked, not that that was out of the ordinary, and he was curiously missing a shoe.

"How did you lose that?" I asked him incredulously, tilting my head towards his shoe-less foot. He just smirked at me, and shook his head. "Left it in one of the teacher's apartments. I had to leave fast; someone heard voices and came in to inquire. Wouldn't look good if she was caught with one of the students, would it, Little Dhampir?" He asked me sadly, meeting my eyes, scorn laced in his velvet voice.

"You're not a student," was all I could reply, and he laughed softly. Adrian would have been expelled weeks ago if he was enrolled at the school. Although most of the older students drank, we at least tried to hide it. Adrian had no such qualms, and was quite happy to stumble across the quad clutching a bottle of vodka. Of course, the teachers and guardians stopped him before any of the younger, more impressionable students saw him, but this didn't deter Adrian. He just didn't get the hint that it wasn't considered acceptable to be drunk in front of the elementary building.

"Ah, that isn't the point, and don't pretend you don't know it, Little Dhampir. I heard you and Dimitri this morning," he said before leaning forwards and locking his lips onto mine. I was in a state of shock, and didn't think fast enough to push him off. All I could do was have an argument with myself. On one hand, he was a GREAT kisser. The way his lips moved paralysed me, and it was obvious he had had a lot of practice. On the other, I didn't want this. Adrian wasn't Dimitri.

I love Adrian. I love him like a brother, much like the way I love Lissa. They were the family I never had, and as much as I argue with Christian, I wouldn't trade any of them for the world. I know Lissa feels the same way. Before the accident, we both had a true family. Although I wasn't blood related to the Dragomirs, I was close enough with them that I should have been. Lissa's parents were my parents, and Andre was my brother. The crash affected both of us. Physically, I was worse off, because, well, I died and stuff. But emotionally? Lissa was hit the most. She was left by herself. No family at all. At least I had family, even if I hated them. Lissa had nobody except me, and she nearly lost me as well.

When it came out that I was shadow-kissed, people kept on asking me lots of questions. A lot of them were similar depending on what gender the person who was asking me was. From the girls, I got questions like, "Is it nice to be bonded with your best friend forever?" and, "Are you guys okay after losing your family?" From the boys, the questions tended to revolve around one base question; "Can you see each other naked?" They usually got a smack across the face when they asked that. Although not if it was Mason or Eddie. They were the only two guys permitted to ask me questions like that, because they were my best friends and I knew they didn't mean it.

Eventually, I regained my mind, and pushed Adrian off my mouth and into the wall. "What the _hell_ are you thinking?!" I asked him, wiping my mouth as if that would remove any piece of history about that kiss. Adrian just smirked. I wanted to kill him. He _knew_ I was devoted to Dimitri, and I'd told Adrian numerous times that I didn't want to pursue anything romantically with him. I got up and stormed into my bathroom, slamming to door shut with as much force as I could summon. The woman I was staring at in the mirror wasn't very different to the usual one, except her eyes were wild, and her lips slightly plumper.

I still wanted to kill him. I didn't know why the feeling wasn't ebbing away like it usually does. All I could think of was ripping Adrian's head off those broad shoulders, his obnoxious smirk still playing on his lips as the life faded away from his eyes. It wouldn't be too difficult. A Dhampir who had been training to kill since she was twelve against a weak Moroi who hadn't had a self-defence lesson in his whole life. I couldn't remember feeling this way about anyone, ever. Except for one night. That one night when Jesse tortured Lissa. I wanted to tear him apart, limb by limb.

Darkness. It was the darkness. I clenched onto the bathtub, determined not to go outside. Who knows what would happen if I did? Adrian obviously figured I wasn't going to come back out, and I heard the door to my room shut. However, that didn't mean that I was feeling better. I would have done anything to chase on after him. But there was a small voice in my head telling me not to. Telling me I was better than that. The voice was low and soft, and had a soft Russian hint to it. My mentor had obviously made a bigger impression on me than I thought. Mental impression. I already knew he had left a physical one.

I needed Dimitri. As luck would have it, I actually had my phone in my pocket for once, rather than leaving it somewhere, and I texted him as fast as I could, telling him to get his ass to my dorm. Less than two minutes early, I heard him knock swiftly, and I took a deep breath and exited the bathroom to let him in. He just stood there in the doorframe, recognising the frantic look in my eyes immediately. "No, Rose," he told me firmly, grabbing onto my hand and dragging me to the bed, after shutting the door. Later, I was to hope nobody had seen him enter, but my mind was still focused on Adrian.

"Rose, snap out of it. You know you're better than this. Don't let the darkness capture you. You're the strongest woman I know. Fight it," was all he said to me, and watched me warily as I started to calm down. There was something about his presence that acted like a tranquiliser to me. It would calm me down, force me out of any mood that I was in, and send me into a happy bubble only present when he was near. I hoped he felt the same about me, although I wasn't sure. He was so wise, so mature, and I didn't deserve him. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to disagree with him when he decided he loved me. I was going to love him with my whole heart until he decided to pursue something, or someone, who was better for him than I was.

He ran a hand through my hair, and it suddenly hit me that we were in my bedroom, alone, with nobody coming to interrupt. I think it had just hit him too, because his eyes filled with lust as I leant forward to kiss him. He pulled away slightly. "We shouldn't," he whispered, and the words looked painful for him to even mutter. "We should," I told him before reaching up again. This time, we didn't stop, and we spent the rest of the night together, reclaiming each other as our own.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about how long it took me to get this chapter uploaded! I just keep on getting inspiration then losing it again :c**

**_Usual disclaimers apply._  
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I woke up the next morning with the overwhelming sense of loss. I knew it was because I no longer had Dimitri's arms wrapped around me, caressing my cheeks, lips, shoulders. He was right to leave, but that doesn't mean I wasn't happy that he had done so. I was surprised that he had managed to untangle us so that he could leave without waking me up, but if I had to be frank, I was a very heavy sleeper and not much could wake me up. Not exactly a redeeming quality for a future guardian who should be on guard at all times. I refused to worry about that yet. That's one of the problems that I would be able to deal with in the future, when I'd succeeded in actually getting that far. Although I was determined to become Lissa's guardian, with my history, temper and luck, anything could happen between now and graduation.

With a resounding sigh, I pulled myself up so, so that I was sitting upright in bed. I was aware that my hair was standing up on end, but I didn't have enough time to shower, judging by the time on the clock, and the amount of time it took me to get ready if I had a shower in the morning. My eyes drifted to my desk, where a folded piece of paper was lying, with my name written in elegant script across the top. I was 99.9% positive that wasn't there when Dimitri and I had retired to bed the previous night, and I was just as sure that it was Dimitri's handwriting across the top. I got out of bed, not bothering to make the bed. I never do; what's the point if you're just going to mess it up the next night?

_Dear Rose,_

_Good morning. Training has been cancelled this morning; I think we did enough exercise last night. Remember to have a shower (I know what your hair looks like after we've made love), and I'll see you later._

_Dimitri_

_PS – Shred this note, or hide it. We don't need any more attention drawing to us than is necessary._

I smiled to myself. He knew me so well, and I loved his subtle sense of humour. His writing was so much more formal than my own, and his script so much neater. He was the salt to my pepper, the peanut to my jelly. I loved him with all my heart. The thought scared me, however. The feelings I felt towards him felt right, absolutely, noquestionaboutit right, but I was terrified at the intensity of them. I read all of the typical teenage books where the protagonist falls head-over-heels in love for this hunky guy (at least, Liss read those books, and unfortunately, I had to suffer right alongside her), and I was always so sceptical of them. I was turning into those girls, and although I wouldn't trade Dimitri for the world, I was scared that I was turning into one of the girls I so passionately hated before.

No. I wasn't becoming one of those girls. If I was, Lissa surely would have picked up on it. She was so attentive, especially towards me, and she picked up the smallest mood change I made, like _she_ was bonded to _me_. But recently she hadn't been like that. Christian was a bad influence on her. I loved him, sure I did, but Lissa had changed. Some of the changes were for the better, like she had more confidence that she didn't have before, but she's turned into one of those girls who were obsessed with their boyfriend. We hadn't had a proper conversation together for weeks. There were things I so sorely needed to tell her, about Adrian, Dimitri, Mason, but I could never get her alone. It's not that I wasn't happy with Christian knowing, but I wasn't comfortable to spill my guts out to him.

I resolved to chat to her today, and tell her everything that had happened. She meant no harm, I knew that, but I knew she'd be annoyed that I didn't tell her about Dimitri in the first place. I sent her a quick text, asking her to meet me at breakfast in an hour, and then spend the day with me. It was Saturday, which meant that we didn't have school, and we had the whole day. That was, if she didn't already have plans. I rarely asked for things from her, so I hoped she would allow me this one day. Suddenly, everything that I had been holding in was desperate to be released, and I exhaled in relief when I got a reply from Lissa telling me that she would meet me there, and that she'd cleared her day.

I hopped into the shower, and the hour passed relatively quickly. I raced down the stairs to meet Lissa, who was wearing jeans and a pink shirt. We didn't talk much as we grabbed an apple and yoghurt before heading towards a bench outside, except to exchange a few pleasantries about each other's appearances. Lissa, being Lissa, didn't question why I'd asked her to spend the day with her, but I knew through the bond that she was really curious. I didn't detect any hints of annoyance that she'd had to cancel her day, however, so that reassured me, although she had grown better at blocking me through the bond, just like I had with her.

After we'd eaten, she rested one hand upon my shoulder gently. "Rose… what's wrong? Something has been eating at you for days, I can tell, and it's killing me inside," she said, her concerned eyes boring into mine, and before I could stop myself, everything came tumbling out. All about how I missed Mason, and cried almost every night. All about how Adrian kissed me, and my mixed feelings about him. All about becoming a guardian, and how I concerned so much for her well-being. And finally, and most importantly, all about Dimitri, and how I felt about him. What we'd done, how much I loved him, how long it had been going on for… all of it.

I must admit, Liss was an

exceptional listener. She didn't make so much as a murmur as I sobbed my heart out to her. This was a good thing. If I got interrupted, I would have reconsidered about how telling her all of this would be a bad thing. I would have thought about asking Dimitri about our relationship before actually doing it. I would have thought about how there were just some things Lissa never needed to know. But she didn't stop me, and so I never ceased talking, and once I had finished, although my makeup was streaked, and my voice was hoarse, the weight that had been pressing down on my shoulders had lifted. I had a free spirit… at least until I saw my best friend's face.

Whilst I had been speaking, I had blocked out her emotions. I didn't need the distraction, and I was honestly scared that she would be repulsed by some of the things that I told her. I watched her take a deep breath, and watched different emotions flicker across her face at hyper speed. Finally, she tried to make her face blank, like Dimitri's guardian mask, but it didn't really have the same effect, and she just looked like a girl who was trying desperately hard not to break down into tears. She just sat there for a few minutes, taking it all in, and trying to process it in her mind. I tried not to intrude, I honestly did. She didn't like it when I went poking around in her head, and I only did it when I was concerned about her, or when I was dragged under without consent. However, that had been happening less and less frequently recently, a fact that I was very happy with indeed.

"I'm happy for you, I truly am. I know that you've found it hard the past few months, what with Mason… passing away, and be being so preoccupied with Christian. Mason was your best friend, and I couldn't even begin to conceive how I would feel if Adrian or someone passed on, especially if I witnessed it. I love you Rose, you're my sister, and I don't want to see you upset. I'm so thrilled that you're happy with Dimitri. Really. I'm just a bit upset that you didn't tell me earlier. I would have kept it a secret… I would have told _you_," she said gently, although her voice had risen a bit towards the end of her speech. I expected it. It was the sort of thing I would have said to her if our roles were reversed.

"I'm sorry, Lissa. I just… I could never find the right time to tell you. You were always busy with Christian, or practicing Spirit with Adrian. We haven't had any time together for weeks, and I didn't want to just tell you in a rushed way. I wanted to do what we're doing now; have an actually conversation, just the two of us. I'm not even sure if I was meant to tell you now. I'm so scared of someone overhearing Dimitri and I, or seeing us do something that OBVIOUSLY isn't a mentor-student appropriate action. But I can't just… stop seeing him. That would be like you and Christian splitting up, even though you still both loved each other. It makes no sense," I warbled on, more tears springing to my eyes. God, what was going on with me today?! Maybe it was my hormones – my period was due in about two days or so.

Lissa had no reply to my last comment, and so she just leaned forward and hugged me, firmly but gently. It was the Lissa hug I had always remembered, the hug she had always given me when I was sick or upset. It put a faint smile on my face, remembering all the times in the past that she had given me one of these hugs. It wasn't often. Usually it was me giving the hugs to her when she was upset. But that made her hugs all the more special, because they were rare, and well deserved. But no matter how convincing her thoughts were, her words were, her actions were, I still couldn't ignore that niggling feeling Lissa was radiating. It was the feeling of doubt, and horror, and it worried me.


	4. Chapter 4

**This was a relatively fast upload for me! :D You lucky people :3**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or any of its characters.**_

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If nothing else came out of our talk, Lissa had been making more time to spend with me. She always smiled when she saw Dimitri and I together, even if we were simply training, and had heavily hinted to Dimitri that she knew about us. However, I was nervous about telling him that I had told her. I knew he didn't want people to know about our relationship, and I was unsure of how he would react to the news that yet another one of my friends knew about it. He must have suspected that it would be a matter of time before I told her, seeing as though we were so close, but I had resolved to myself that I wasn't going to tell her until I absolutely had to, but at the time, it was a necessary action to take, and I felt so much better knowing that she knew.

I hadn't spoken to Adrian since he kissed me. I was still pissed off at him, and wasn't ready to forgive him yet. I had told Dimitri about it, and he told me that if he was the person I wanted to be with, he would let me go, although he would find it extremely difficult. I didn't verbalise my reply to him, but our mouths and hands were a bit – scratch that, VERY busy for the next hour or so. However, the fact that I didn't want to speak to him yet didn't register with Adrian, and he continuously tried to chat to me like nothing had happened. I understand that he lived for the motto, 'forgive and forget,' but I just wasn't like that. I was the queen of grudges, and if he didn't know that about me by now, his vision must be seriously impaired.

On Tuesday morning, however, Adrian made it very obvious that he was sick of waiting for me to forgive him. I had just headed back to my room after training, and Adrian was standing in front of the door. I glared at him and told him to move, but it was obvious that he just wasn't going to budge until I spoke to him. "Adrian, what do you want?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes. I could have just pushed him to the side, but I was fatigued and secretly, a part of me wanted to make it up with Adrian.

"I want to say sorry," he replied, causing my mouth to fall open. I had honestly expected him to start telling me about how we were a match made in heaven, and how I should 'dump' Dimitri and have a realistic relationship with him instead. You know, the usual Adrian arguments.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he continued when I made no sign of replying. Even the way he used my real name rather than 'Little Dhampir' meant that he was grovelling. "I shouldn't have done what I did. I understand that you are loyal to Dimitri, and I respect that. It's just that I lose control easily, and although I know what I do isn't right, I simply can't stop myself. I would hate for us to fall out over something like this. Please, accept my apology?" He finished, looking up through his long eyelashes for the last part of his statement. He had the look of a young puppy who had done something naughty; the type of look that is simply impossible to resist. I sighed, and clasped my hands together.

"Fine!" I sighed again. "I forgive you. Just don't do it again. And Adrian?" I asked, smiling slightly when he looked up at me again. "Please move out of my doorframe," I finished sweetly, pulling him into the corridor and slamming the wooden door in his face.

Lissa would be happy to hear that we'd made up. She had been hassling me for ages, just as Dimitri had, but Lissa wasn't so subtle about it. Numerous times she had straight up and told me I was being immature and stupid. I blamed Christian. Lissa used to be so sweet, but now she had a reckless side to her too. I didn't like it. I was the reckless one; it was my job to keep her safe. Liss used to respect that, and although it was naturally in her personality, she did her best to keep out of trouble. However, ever since she'd been actively involved with Christian, she'd started the decent into loss of self-control. I wasn't sure if she was drinking yet, but she was good at blocking things from me, and I knew if she continued with her close contact with Adrian, it was almost inevitable.

After training the next day, I headed back downstairs to grab an apple. In typical Rose Hathaway style, I was running 15 minutes, and in typical Rose Hathaway luck, my first class of the day was Stan's class. However, as I was hurrying to class, I was interrupted by a giant, dark figure in my way. "Jesus, Dimitri, fancy giving a girl a bit or warning?" I exclaimed as I crashed into him, rubbing my nose. His chest, although perfectly sculpted, was HARD. I looked up in frustration, but there was something about his expression that made me shut up. It was a mixture of solemnness and wariness, but underneath, I could swear there was a look of sympathy in his eyes. "What? What's happened?" I asked him slowly, interpreting the look to be one of bad news. I was right.

"Rose, you need to come with me," he told me, looking like he wanted to take my hand. As a compromise, he pressed the palm of his hand onto my lower back, a gesture that could be taken as a friendly one, but meant so much more to the two of us.

Carefully, he steered me towards Kirova's office. There was nobody sitting outside, and when I walked in, realised there was nobody inside either, except for Kirova. This was a bad sign. I was either in trouble, or something bad had happened. Like, _really_ bad. Seeing as though I hadn't really done anything wrong recently (except for being with Dimitri, obviously), and by the look on Kirova's face, I was pretty sure something bad had happened. She stood as I entered, and shook my hand gingerly before indicating that I should take a seat. I sunk into one of the chairs, wishing that I was in trouble. I could deal with lectures, I could deal with rants… but I couldn't deal with all of these sympathetic looks and noises.

"Rose," Kirova began, and even _that_ was a bad sign. She never, ever called me Rose unless she as trying to be nice, which was never. Her tone was soft and gentle, like she was trying to avoid an outburst from me. I was aware of Dimitri's hand placed comfortingly on my shoulder, and if he was trying to restrain and relax me at the same time. When I made no sign of replying, she continued. "Rose, there's been an accident," she said gently, carefully scanning my face and body to make sure I wasn't going to jump up and attempt anything crazy. To be honest, doing something crazy was one of the last things on my mind. Immediately I checked into Lissa's brain, and exhaled a huge sigh of relief when I found out she was sitting next to Christian in her Slavic Arts class, which meant it wasn't either of them. Lissa wasn't emitting any signs of distress, which meant that either the accident didn't affect her in any way, or she didn't know about it yet. Dimitri was with me, so he was okay. That only left two people…

"Adrian Ivashkov and Edison Castille have been off premises all morning. They had written permission from me, and they had taken two school guardians with them. However, I have just been informed by Guardian Petrov that the guardians' monitors have disappeared, and we traced the car lying on its side by the edge of a forest approximately 100 miles away. We can't organise a search party for another few hours, but I know that the guardians are deliberating over holding a search party at all. We may lose more lives than we can save," she finished, now avoiding eye contact with me. Her voice had begun to waver towards the end of her speech, but I had stopped listening properly. I was in shock, and only had one thought in my mind. I rose to my feet, shrugging Dimitri's clammy hand off my shoulder, vaguely seeing him move to my side.

"We have to save them. If you don't organise it, I will go out myself. And so help me God, you know I can," I told her, trying to sound strong and defiant, but only really managing a hoarse mumble. Shock did that to you. I couldn't get my thoughts in order. All I knew was that I had to save them, before something terrible happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry about the late update. I haven't really got a hang of this "daily updating" yet xD And I've been really sick and busy, due to the run up to Christmas. Are you guys looking forward to it? So yeah, sorry again ^_^**

**I also want to say that I do read every single one of your reviews, and I really appreciate them all, believe me. I love to see what you all think of my writing, seeing as though this is my second fanfic ever, and my first one was only a one-shot, and didn't really get a very good review. So thanks again! I really do love you all.**

**_Usual disclaimers apply._  
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Kirova just looked at Dimitri, and a silent message passed between the two of them. Silently, Dimitri took hold of my shoulders and led me out of the room, down the corridor, and into the guardian dorms. I knew that this was a plot to get rid of me so that the guardians can actually focus on if, how and when they're going to help Eddie and Adrian, but I was too distracted by my rage. It felt very similar to how I felt when I caught Jesse torturing Lissa, but this time, I didn't know who my rage was directed at. It could have been at the Strigoi, for taking them in the first place. At Adrian, for dragging Eddie out. At Eddie, for not protecting Adrian. At the guardians accompanying them, for not protecting either of them. At the guardians back here, for considering _not _creating a rescue party for them. Finally, at Dimitri, for trying to get me out of the way. As only one of them was currently available for me to talk to, I settled on taking out my frustrations at Dimitri.

However, like the good little girl I was, I decided to wait until he'd taken me to his dorm. To be utterly truthful, I was banking on the small chance that once he was in his own room, he would relax a little, giving me a small opportunity to escape. I knew it was highly unlikely, however it didn't hurt trying. I could tell my Russian Comrade was suspicious about my lack of protest as he steered me through the corridors and up the stairs. Unbeknown to him, I was crying, the tears streaming down my face simply out of pure frustration and anger, and I swiped at them viciously, probably scratching myself in the process. I wasn't really thinking too hard about that at the time. I felt the warm blood drip onto my lip, and didn't even bother to wipe it away. I looked a state anyway, what difference did a bit of blood make?

The walk passed by in a blur. I hadn't really taken in my surroundings as I had stormed, so it was a surprise when Dimitri opened the door and gently pushed me onto the bed. Wisely, he locked the door behind him and pocketed the key. I just sat there, clenching my teeth and glaring at him furiously. He looked behind his shoulder and caught a sight of my face, his own expression changing numerous times in that second before settling on looking at me with worried yet compassionate eyes. He must have known what was coming. He was there the past few times, and through experience, he knew that I would usually shout myself out. But this time, I knew it was different. My friends were in immediate danger. I was scared for their lives, as well as full of rage.

He sat next to me on the bed and put his arm around me. I wanted to scream at him, tell him I hated him, that I never wanted to see him again. Yet I knew this wouldn't be the way to go. Secretly, I had been working on dealing with the Darkness better, and I now knew what were appropriate actions, and which weren't. I opened my mouth, about to tell him to get off me before I hurt him, but I heard a small whimper, and then a louder one. It took me a minute to realise it was me, and then, belatedly, I grasped the fact that I was shaking too. No wonder Dimitri had his arm wrapped around me so firmly. Tears continued to fall down my face, but these were tears of resignation. Dimitri said nothing, simply pulled me to his chest and nuzzled his head into my hair, which was now knotted somehow.

I let all of my anger, sadness, worry, out onto his shirt, until slowly, the tears dried out, and I could think again. I'd never cried so much in my life, but there was a part in me that was glad I cried rather than swear at Dimitri. That would have hurt him badly, even though he knew it wasn't me speaking. When he was sure that I had stopped sniffling, he pulled away from me, holding me at arm's length to scan my face. He frowned when he spotted the bright red lines that streaked my face, and got up to receive the first aid kit from above his cabinet. I sat in silence as he cleaned me up gingerly. He was still cautious, knowing the slightest move could set me off again, either crying or shouting. He didn't really want either, I was assuming. The antiseptic stung, and I winced slightly, making him smile for the first time since that morning.

"You can fight Strigoi no problem, but when I get out the antiseptic, you wince like I've sliced you in half," he joked softly, stroking my cheek softly. I tried my best to smile at him, but I was pretty sure that it came out as a grimace.

"I'm Rose Hathaway. I'm always full of surprises," I replied weakly. My smile came a bit more natural, and he laughed, not because I had been funny, but because he was pleased I had finally stopped my moping. Dimitri kissed me softly, and I responded with a bit more excitement than I probably should have done. However, Dimitri responded to my eagerness with an exuberance that mirrored my own, and before I knew it, I was lying on my back, sprawled across the bed, with Dimitri lying on top of me. We were both minusing our shirts, and he was somehow missing his pants as well. Don't ask me how THAT happened. When I kissed Dimitri, I became a different person, and I usually did things that I couldn't remember doing later. For example, taking his pants off. Not that I was complaining, of course.

After some heavy… fondling and kissing, Dimitri groaned and sat up, running his hand through his tousled hair. I didn't think that it was fair that he got to look so sexy when he was grumpy whilst I looked like I had been pulled through a haystack, and so I decided to make up for the nasty image of me by pulling myself up and kissing his chest. He chuckled before tucking his hand under my chin and lifting my head up. "Roza, we can't. Adrian and Eddie…" Those two names worked like he'd thrown a bucket of cold water over me. I pulled away from him, panic filling my head. How could I have been so _stupid_? What was I thinking?! Two of my best friends were possibly getting killed that very second, and all I could think about was having sex with my mentor! My eyes filled up with tears for the second time that day, but this time, I was annoyed at myself.

I stumbled out of bed, pulling my shirt over my head clumsily. "Come on, Dimitri! We need to go help them!" I told him angrily, pulling at his large, leathery hand. Dimitri, annoyingly, just shook his head and refused to stand up. Although I was strong, especially for my gender and size, I was no match for him, and I eventually gave up, walking over to his pants, which were somehow on the other side of the room, and fishing the key out of the pocket. He stood up then, walking over to me and trying to take the key. I held it out at arm's length, just far enough away so that he couldn't reach it. It was a pointless effort anyway; I would never be able to escape with him pressed up against me like that. I sighed, but refused to give him the key. Once I had stopped fighting against him, Dimitri relaxed a little, but still kept the exit blocked so that I couldn't do a runner.

"Rose, the Headmistress told me that she'd call us when they needed us. She explicitly said that you wouldn't miss anything important, but she didn't think that the planning was appropriate for someone so young and involved, and she was right. You'd just throw yourself into the fight without thinking about the consequences. Your fast thinking is one of the reasons I love you, but in this case, it isn't the right way to go. We're dealing with the lives of a royal, a minor, and several guardians. Please, be patient. It won't be long now," he told me gently, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I sighed, and resignedly slumped back down on the bed, glaring at Dimitri as he got dressed. I decided to ask him a question that had been playing on my mind ever since I heard the news. "Hey, Dimitri? Why were Eddie and Adrian out of the premises anyway? It's rare for Kirova to allow us to leave, especially during school time," I asked him, curiosity ringing loud and clear in my tone. Dimitri chuckled again, and turned around to smile at me.

"They had gone to get your birthday present. It's in a few days, and they hadn't got you anything yet. The Headmistress let them go because it's your 18th, which is a big one in any country. And she couldn't stop Adrian. Eddie was allowed to go as it was guardian practice, although he was getting you something too," he explained, his voice turning solemn towards the end. I'm sure he was thinking about what I was thinking about; the fact that ultimately, it was my fault they had gone missing.

Before I could voice this, or he could voice his response, which would probably be him telling me I was being stupid (in nicer terms, of course. My Russian God is a lot nicer than I am), the phone rang, and he raced over to go and answer it. After a couple of "mhm"s and "yes"es, he hung up, turning to face me with a grave look on his face. "It's time."


End file.
